Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government when they expect every school to
have the capacity to internally identify commonly occurring
special educational needs.
(LD)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper and remind the House of my declared
interests.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, we expect all schools to be able to identify commonly
occurring special educational needs. In the improvement plan we
included proposals to build workforce capacity and equip
practitioners to identify needs and make best use of provision.
Our increase in the high needs budget, worth £10.54 billion by
2024-25, will help children and young people with SEND in both
special and mainstream schools to receive the right support in
the right place at the right time.
(LD)
I thank the Minster for that reply. How does she square that with
the fact that, according to an LSE survey, in lower socioeconomic
groups more people are identified as having problems, but far
fewer are identified correctly with those needs than are
identified in more affluent areas? If you have other conditions
such as dyslexia, it is not about doing more work, but working
smarter. The way your brain is organised is different; I know
this only too well from personal experience. You need different
learning patterns and different strategies. When are we going to
get to a situation where it is not the tiger parent who gets the
diagnosis, but the school?
(Con)
I acknowledge the noble Lord’s point about the variability in
identification of certain commonly occurring special educational
needs. There is a variability as the noble Lord explained, but
also regionally. That is why we are trying in our special
educational needs, disabilities and AP improvement plan to make
sure that at every level—from initial teacher training to the
qualifications of SENCOs, to the availability of specialist
support from educational psychologists—schools get the support
they need and such children are identified early.
(CB)
My Lords, I am really concerned that parents are being told that
their children’s special educational needs cannot be taken on in
schools, or to move their children in order to maintain school
statistics. Does the Minister agree that this is discriminatory,
and what action will the Government take to prevent this
happening?
(Con)
If the noble Baroness has specific cases she would like to share
with me afterwards, I will be more than happy to take those up
and look into them. It is extremely important that children with
special educational needs are in schools where they can flourish
and thrive. For the vast majority, that will be in mainstream
provision, but I recognise some of the pressures the noble
Baroness describes and I am very happy to take this issue away
and try to address it directly.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I declare an interest in that I have a 45 year-old
adult son with autism and learning disabilities, so I know many
of the journeys that parents will have made in getting support
for their children. What help is available in early schooling to
support parents in identifying children with potential learning
difficulties? Does she agree that, given the massive underfunding
of schools and early years, schools are finding it difficult to
cope with any of the demands, including children with learning
disabilities?
(Con)
I absolutely do not recognise the picture of massive underfunding
of schools. As I have said repeatedly in the House, schools will
have the highest budgets per pupil in real terms next year. There
have been very significant increases over the last couple of
years. Regarding the youngest children, we are funding up to
7,000 early years staff to do a level 3 SENCO qualification, so
that we can identify those children at the earliest possible
stage.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare an interest as laid out in the register as
chief executive of Cerebral Palsy Scotland. The Government’s SEND
plan made not one mention of physical disability or cerebral
palsy, despite referring to learning disability and autism.
Without identification, how will the Minister make sure that
schools support the needs of children with cerebral palsy, the
most common cause of physical disability in children, to ensure
that they achieve the best possible educational outcomes?
(Con)
I recognise the point my noble friend makes, and she will be
aware that we are running a number of pathfinder projects and
testing some of our new approaches, including for children with
physical disabilities. I hope my noble friend is pleased that in
the improvement plan, we have added a fourth early standard. In
additional to early language support, autism and mental health
and wellbeing, we are also focusing on children with visual and
hearing impairments whose performance at school currently is well
below their potential.
My Lords, the Education Committee report of September 2023
recommends that the department scrutinise the use of alternative
provision settings and ensure that children and young people with
SEND are transferred there only after having a statutory
assessment, and not use them as a behavioural management tool.
What steps has the department taken towards addressing this
issue?
(Con)
Obviously, the ESC report to which the right reverend Prelate
refers is very recent, so the department is considering very
seriously the recommendations from the committee. However, I
absolutely recognise that behind the right reverend Prelate’s
question is a concern about the quality of alternative provision;
but, used well, it can provide an opportunity for early
intervention and to return children to mainstream education.
(Lab)
Can the Minister tell the House what subsequent measures the DfE
will put in place following reports from Ofsted and the Care
Quality Commission, and from Hertfordshire County Council this
week, identifying widespread and systemic failings in SEN
provision?
(Con)
Obviously, we take those reports extremely seriously, and that is
the value of having an independent inspectorate. I cannot comment
on the specific Hertfordshire case, but we work with the local
authority or the trust in question to ensure that those issues
are addressed.
(LD)
The Minister will be aware that, every year, the number of
children and young people with education, health and care plans
who are permanently excluded from school is increasing
significantly. How do we ensure that those children get their
education, health and care plans implemented?
(Con)
I am not sure that there is a direct link between implementation
and exclusion; there are cases where a plan has been implemented.
Of course, the last thing we want for any child—particularly
children with education, health and care plans—is for them to be
excluded from school. To return to my earlier answer, the
Government are trying to think this through from the earliest
stages for early years practitioners, equipping every teacher to
teach children with special educational needs well and making
sure they get the specialist provision they require. That is why
our investment in this sector has expanded so dramatically.
(CB)
My Lords, as ever, I declare my interest as a teacher. Will the
Government reconsider the priority given to parental preference
in educational placements for children with EHC plans, given the
opinion of many professionals that this is not in the best
interests of the child or of efficient education provision, and
that the popular schools are at breaking point?
(Con)
As the noble Lord knows, a number of these things are under
review, and we will test them as part of our pathfinders and in
the improvement plan. It is very important that that balance be
kept between the professional judgment of teachers, to which the
noble Lord referred, and the sense of confidence that parents
have in the system.
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the
regulations relating to standards for food in schools, and in
particular whether they plan to reduce the amount of added sugar
they allow.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, the school food standards regulate the food and drink
provided at both lunchtime and other times of the school day.
They already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar. We
believe that the current standards provide a robust yet flexible
framework to ensure that pupils in England continue to receive
high-quality and nutritious food that builds healthy eating
habits for life. We continue to keep the standards under
review.
(Lab)
My Lords, I am disappointed that the Minister is not indicating
that the Government are willing to undertake a review. Is she
aware that they undertook a review in 2014, which eased the rules
so that more sugar can be used in school meals? This is damaging
the health of children, as we see from the evidence of morbid
obesity. Will she review the position and please move to at least
apply the regulations that applied when Labour was in power, when
we had fewer children with obesity?
(Con)
I hope that the noble Lord recognises at lot of the measures that
the Government have taken on sugar content in food generally and
the positioning of food products in retail settings, as well as
our wider approach to food education in the national curriculum
and our investment in the primary PE and sport premium.
(LD)
My Lords, I draw the Minister’s attention to a study published
this week showing a welcome reduction in the number of hospital
extractions of children’s teeth due to the soft drinks industry
levy. Does she agree with the chair of the British Dental
Association that now is the time for the Government to double
down on measures that force industry to reduce the amount of
sugar in food and drink, and that our school meals regulations
should be part of that doubling down?
(Con)
We have made significant changes with the soft drinks levy, the
regulations on home calorie labelling and the restrictions that I
mentioned in response to the noble Lord opposite regarding the
location of products high in fat and sugar. I understand that
those location restrictions are judged to be the single most
impactful obesity policy on reducing children’s calorie
consumption.
Lord Swire (Con)
My Lords, what is concerning is the apparent lack of
understanding among many schoolchildren today about where and how
food is produced and what is wholesome and healthy food. With
that in mind, is it not time for the Government to look again at
investing more in domestic sciences to teach children how to cook
good food that does not include unhealthy contents?
(Con)
I reassure my noble friend that that is covered in the national
curriculum in a number of subjects, including within design and
technology, where there is a focus on exactly the issues of where
food is produced and how to cook in a healthy way, and on
teaching children to cook a number of mainly savoury recipes.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister has referred to a number of actions that
the Government have taken that go wider than schools, but why
have the Government consistently postponed the introduction of a
ban on multibuy products relating to high sugar and fat content?
It has now been postponed for another two years. Why is that?
(Con)
I may need to write to the noble Lord with a detailed answer to
that. The Government follow the evidence on what will have the
greatest impact. Specifically in relation to children, as I said,
it is the location of products that makes the biggest
difference.
of Hudnall (Lab)
My lords, the Minister referred in her first Answer to my noble
friend to a certainty that food that was supplied to children
would be healthy and nutritious—I think those are the words she
used. If I were a parent with a child at school, how would I find
the evidence demonstrating that the food being offered to them
met those standards?
(Con)
I am sure that parents can access the school food standards. We
work closely with schools and help them, particularly at times of
inflationary pressure, to ensure that they get the best value for
money. We offer that service to any state-funded school that
wants it. Again, I can write to the noble Baroness with details
of where parents would find that information.
(Lab)
My Lords, this week happens to be Sugar Awareness Week. The
Question from my noble friend Lord Brooke rightly highlights the
risk of sugar in school food. Shockingly, four in 10 children now
leave primary school at an above healthy weight. What more action
will the Government take to ensure that all foods and drinks
served in schools are as nutritious as possible? Have they
assessed the impact of delaying advertising bans aimed at
protecting children?
(Con)
As I think I have tried to say in response to earlier questions,
the school food standards are part of a much wider picture of
what impacts on childhood obesity, which I agree is at very
worrying levels. This Government have introduced universal infant
free school meals, we have robust school food standards that are
set in legislation, and we have made a number of other moves to
make sure that children get a healthy diet and are educated in a
way to understand what that is.
(CB)
Are we aware that one of the reasons why children eat a lot of
sugar is that their parents do? There is inherited bad
performance when it comes to food and your social position. When
will the Government get behind my Bill, which would create a
ministry of poverty prevention so that these things can be dealt
with? We cannot just keep expecting people suddenly to wake up to
the fact that sugar is not good for them. Until we hit poverty,
we are not going anywhere.
(Con)
The Government have a strong record in this area, with changes to
the eligibility for free school meals for families in receipt of
universal credit. I hear the strength of the noble Lord’s
feelings, but, as he will have just heard in the King’s Speech, I
am afraid the direct answer to his question about when the
Government will support his proposal is that it will not be in
the near term.
(Con)
My Lords, although it is obviously important that we inform
pupils and their families about eating less sugar and having
healthier diets generally, are my noble friend the Minister and
her department aware of some of the unintended consequences? For
example, when the soft drinks levy came in, one company found
that its sales were going down, so it brought in an older version
called Irn Bru 1901, which was sweeter and more expensive for
consumers. How do we make sure that we do not cause the
unintended consequence of unhealthier drinks?
(Con)
As I said, specifically on food and drink available in school,
our Get Help Buying for Schools service makes sure that schools
buy not only efficiently and compliantly but well and
healthily.
(Lab)
This week, given what the King did yesterday in launching his
charity to tackle food poverty, we need to acknowledge that this
is a real issue. Many children who are entitled to free school
meals have never been registered for them or claimed them.
Sheffield has had an auto-enrolment scheme for free school meals,
which has meant that 6,500 children who otherwise would not be
getting a meal at school now are. Will the Government encourage
every local authority to auto-enrol children who are eligible but
not claiming? That would be a tiny but none the less significant
step in tackling food poverty.
(Con)
I am very interested in the noble Baroness’s example of Sheffield
because, when I have been asked about auto-enrolment previously,
I noted that the constraints around it relate to data protection
and the ability to share someone’s details. I would be interested
to follow up with the noble Baroness later.
